and now, five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big, bold idea is, never mind. >> reporter: but he also showed flashes of the kind of testiness sources in both camps feared from their candidates, except obama's was directed a the moderator, not romney. >> the last point i'd make, before -- >> two minutes is up, sir. >> no, i think i had five seconds before you interrupted me, was -- >> reporter: romney did have his own awkward moderator moment. >> i'm sorry, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i like pbs, i love big bird, i actually like you too. >> reporter: one of the most surprising parts of the president's performance was what he did not say. no mention of romney's infamous 47% remark, no talk of bain capital, nothing about romney's own taxes. he did play the "romney is a hypocrite" card when it comes to health care. >> the irony is that we've seen this model work really well. in massachusetts. because governor romney did a good thing, working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model and, as a consequence, people are covered t